The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office released a statement that actress Anne Heche had neither alcohol nor drugs in her system when she crashed into a home and caused a fire that took her life.
MSN News reports that one week after the crash on August 5, TMZ reported that Heche was “under the influence” of either cocaine or fentanyl but not alcohol. The entertainment news channel cited their source as having come from law enforcement agencies that had been investigating the crash.
However, the LA County Coroner’s office said in a statement released on Tuesday, December 6, that while they did find traces of benzoylecgonine, an inactive cocaine metabolite that indicates past cocaine use, “there was no evidence of impairment by illicit substances at the time of the crash,”
Further details from the coroner’s report indicated the presence of fentanyl in Heche’s urine following treatment at the hospital prior to her death and evidence of past marijuana use, but “not at the time of injury.”
Heche had crashed her Mini Cooper into an apartment garage that morning, the residents helped her to get free, and the actress sped off. A short time later, traveling at a high rate of speed in a residential neighborhood, Heche plowed into another home. Heche’s vehicle ignited a fire in which the homeowner escaped. However, Heche remained trapped inside her burning vehicle for 30 minutes before firefighters could extricate her.
Heche, 53, died the following week from her injuries.
